First 285
Beneteau · Jean-Marie Finot · 1986
Updated
The First 285 is a 8.43 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Jean-Marie Finot and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1986. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 14% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 14% of the boats it races against.
137th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 58 starts across 5 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
8.43 m
27′ 8″
Beam
3.02 m
Draft
1.58 m
Displacement
2.8 t
Sail area
40 m²
On the podium
Where a First 285 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
24%
of 58 starts by 3 boats
Wins
2%
Read from 58 starts by 3 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 285 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Lliga Creuers2026- Lliga Creuers2025
- XIII Badalona al Quadrat2025
- Lliga Creuers2024
- Trofeo Repsol CN Dehesa Campoamor2018
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
22%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
20%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a First 285 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Sun Light 31 (1 meeting), Dufour 334 (1 meeting), J/80 (1 meeting), X-332 (1 meeting), Vrolijk 37 (1 meeting), Maxi 95 (1 meeting), Toro 25 (1 meeting), First 27.7 (1 meeting), Sydney 40 (1 meeting), First 44.7 (1 meeting), X-99 (1 meeting), Hanse 301 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 285 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.24
41°
Beam reach
7.22
90°
Broad reach
7.89
135°
Downwind VMG
6.88
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is off the wind when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on a reach as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a First 285
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.70 | 3.79 | 4.22 | 4.24 |
| 52° | 4.21 | 5.61 | 6.14 | 6.26 |
| 60° | 4.48 | 5.83 | 6.33 | 6.51 |
| 75° | 4.65 | 6.02 | 6.54 | 6.90 |
| 90° | 4.63 | 6.20 | 6.74 | 7.22 |
| 110° | 4.73 | 6.30 | 6.99 | 7.74 |
| 120° | 4.57 | 6.21 | 6.95 | 7.94 |
| 135° | 4.07 | 5.91 | 6.77 | 7.89 |
| 150° | 3.49 | 5.32 | 6.46 | 7.47 |
| Run VMG | 3.02 | 4.63 | 5.85 | 6.88 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 300 kg.
Rigging
First 285 rig and sail dimensions
A First 285 carries 9.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.37 m boom, a forestay 9.95 m above the deck and a 3.30 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 13 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 38 to 65 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.